


Setting Fire to Our Insides (for Fun)

by IprotectKennyP (dauntperplexity)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant Homophobia, Carl Mention, Gen, Homophobia, Post 3.26
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-02-23 17:59:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13195545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dauntperplexity/pseuds/IprotectKennyP
Summary: Kent needed to find a place where he could catch his breath. He felt like he’d been choking for the last half an hour.





	1. 11:38PM

**Author's Note:**

> This fic wouldn't leave me alone.
> 
> Posted on my tumblr first, but edits have been made here.

“Go,” Scraps said to Kent when his captain finally handed back his phone. “I’ll take care of things around here.”

“I… I feel like I should…”

“Go home, Parser. Hug your cat.”

Kent sighed, but nodded. He needed to find a place where he could catch his breath. He felt like he’d been choking for the last half an hour. “Tell the guys I needed to check on Purrs,” he said as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Please?”

Scraps nodded. “I will.”

Kent threw down enough cash for the water he’d been drinking all night. He made his way to the exit without looking at anyone.

He just wanted to go home.

He got to his car and unlocked it in time to hear someone yell his name.

“Kent!”

Kent turned around and saw Jeff walking up. “Hey, what’s up?”

“You’re heading out? Carl just ordered a round for everyone. We wanna forget this season so that we can start off fresh in September.”

Kent smiled softly. Starting fresh. That sounded nice. But it wasn’t in the cards for him. “I gotta check on Purrs,” he said, holding up his phone.

“Parser, come on. I can guarantee that Purrs is just sitting on the couch.”

“Probably,” he said. He heard his car lock automatically and unlocked it again. “I should go, though.”

“Hey,” Jeff said, stepping forward. He put a hand on Kent’s shoulder and squeezed. “I know this must be tough. We get knocked out. Zimmermann wins. And now--”

“I’m happy for him,” Kent said quickly. “I am. They were the better team. He kicked ass out there.” Everything he said was true. This wasn’t about Jack winning. 

“So, why are you leaving? And don’t say because of Purrs.”

“I…”

“What’s going on, man? Come back inside and celebrate. We have nowhere else to be tomorrow.”

“I’m…”

“Come on. I’m buying.”

“I’m gay,” Kent said softly.

And the silence lasted a lifetime.

“What?” Jeff said.

“I’m…” Tired. So damn tired. He sighed softly. Well, now he didn’t have to worry about outing Jack. “I’m gay,” with a little more certainty, but still as soft. 

“Parse… now really isn’t the time to be kidding about something like that.”

Kent sighed. Well, that was a better reaction than he expected. “Yeah, okay.” He heard his car lock one more time. He unlocked it and opened the door. He stepped into his car and took in a deep breath. He let it out slowly, trying to compose himself. “Make sure the guys get home okay, please? Call an uber. Or call me if you need.”

“Kent. Wait.”

“It’s fine, Swoops.”

“Kent,” he said softly. “I… I laughed.”

Kent knew. He heard Jeff laugh at the comments Carl made. Granted, his laugh did seem forced and like he was uncomfortable. But it still happened.

And maybe Jeff did try to stop Carl from going on his little homophobic rant.

But he still laughed after.

Kent shook his head. He brushed his fingers through his hair before sliding the key into the ignition and starting the car. “It’s fine.” It was par for the course. He sent Jeff the best smile he could. “I’m gonna head out. I’m kinda tired.” That was the understatement of the century. 

Jeff made his way to Kent’s door before he closed it. “Kent, wait,” he said. “I didn’t--”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kent said, closing the door once Jeff stepped out of the way. He wanted to just drive away, but Jeff was staring at him like he had something else to say. He rolled down his window. “Yeah?”

Jeff bit his bottom lip, trying to figure out what he wanted to say. “I won’t tell anyone,” he said quickly.

Kent shrugged. “It’s… it’s okay if you do. It doesn’t really matter now, huh?” It was only a matter of time. He sighed and and grabbed the steering wheel with both of his hands. He needed to leave. “I’ll see you later, okay?” He rolled up the window and drove off without saying anything else.

Jeff stood in the parking lot, watching as Kent drove off. 

He messed up. He knew he messed up. Bad.

“I… I laughed.”

And, now he had to fix it. 


	2. 8:19AM

Kent “Parser” Parson was Jeff “Swoops” Troy’s best friend. He hadn’t always been, though. When Kent joined the team, Jeff was spending most of his time with Jonny. Kent was spending most of his time with Scraps.

He couldn’t blame Kent, though. They had come into the league together and they spent a lot of time together. Scraps was weirdly protective of Kent, even when it came to their own teammates.

Then Kent made his way onto the starting line with Jeff and Scraps was one half of the starting defensemen. That led to them spending a lot time together. Within weeks, Jeff became lucky enough for Kent to call him his friend.

And eventually he went from friend to best friend.

Kent had been his best friend for years.

So it upset Jeff more than he realized that Kent could not tell him that he was gay until the night before.

Thinking about it, Jeff never really said anything to show that he would support Kent, or anyone, if they ever came out. He was sure he only ever said good things about the You Can Play campaign, if he said anything at all.

But that was all in the past, because last night, when Carl was making those stupid comments and after he tried to shut him up, he laughed.

After watching Kent drive off, he walked back into the bar and saw Scraps talking to Carl. It did not look like a pleasant conversation. He was glad it was Scraps. Scraps who was always the more level-headed between the two of them, which Jeff was grateful for, because Jeff was ready to walk up to Carl and punch him in the face.

It was a scandal the Aces didn’t need.

Scraps would deal with Carl. He was a d-man who was in the running for the Norris every year since the Aces won their first cup, but, more importantly, he was the person that everyone knew they’d have to go through to get to Kent.

The next thing he did was tell Jonny that he had to take him home. It was one of the perks of being on the same team as his brother. He was grateful his brother didn’t ask questions. But he knew they’d come eventually.

Jeff got home, showered, and slept. At least he tried to. He couldn’t because every time he closed his eyes he saw Kent. He saw how tired he was. How haunted.

He saw Kent bracing himself either from Jeff rejecting him after learning he was gay, or from the storm that would eventually rain down on him.

Jeff wanted nothing more than to keep Kent out of the line of fire. He could only do so much without outing Kent.

He had to do something.

So, the next morning, after a jog and some coffee, he decided to go over to Kent’s. He really hoped that Kent wouldn’t notice that he didn’t sleep a minute last night.

Before heading over, he sent a few texts to his captain. Usually, he’d get a response within a few minutes, but nothing came. That alone was worrisome. He tried to call, but his phone went straight to voicemail.

The three calls and five texts after went unanswered.

Not good.

Jeff got into his car and drove.

He hurried up to Kent’s front door after he parked and knocked and rang the doorbell more aggressively than anyone should before 9 in the morning if they didn’t have to head to practice. He was outside for a minute before he was grabbing his spare key.

Then the door opened.

And Jeff found himself staring at a tired, Purrs-holding Kent. “You didn’t sleep,” Jeff said.

“What’s up? What are you doing here?”

“I tried to call and text, but you didn’t answer.”

“Phone died,” Kent said with a shrug.

“Kent,” Jeff said, calling his bluff with one word. The phone rang, so he knew that the phone was still working. Kent had purposely ignored his calls and texts.

“Yeah?”

Jeff took in a deep breath to prepare himself. “I don’t care that you’re gay,” he said a little louder than he meant to. Kent who stared at him with wide eyes. “Sorry. But. I don’t care. I mean, I care about you. You’re still you.”

Kent blinked a few times before bending down to let Purrs go. He stood up again and looked at his friend. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“You didn’t have to drive all the way out here at 8 in the morning just to tell me this.”

Kent sounded like was just going to move past all of it. “Seriously? Is that all you’re gonna say?”

“I…” Kent sighed and moved out of the doorway. “Come in.”

Jeff stepped into the house and closed the door. “Kent.”

“Thank you,” Kent said with much more calm than Jeff expected. “For being cool with it.”

“That’s it?”

Kent blinked a few times. “And for…” he said as he tried to search for what else he was supposed to thank Jeff for.

“Kent,” Jeff said a minute later, not wanting the awkward silence to last too long. “What are we gonna do about this?”

“About?”

“You being gay,” Jeff said. His eyes went wide when he realized how he had said it. “I mean. About—”

“We’re not gonna do anything, Swoops,” he said.

“We gotta get in front of this,” Jeff said.

“No, we don’t.”

“Kent.”

“Look. Whatever happens, happens, okay? I’m not…” Kent sighed and walked over to his living room to sit on the couch. He grabbed the controller to turn off the TV.

Jeff saw that whatever Kent was watching was playing the Zimmermann-Zimmermann’s boyfriend kiss. He walked over and sat down on the couch with him. “I want to fix this.”

“This,” Kent said. “Me?”

“No. Not you. Just…”

“I’m kinda broken,” Kent said with a shrug. He sighed and stood up. “But, whatever. You can hang out if you want. I’m gonna head upstairs and try to get some sleep.”

“Yeah. You look like you need it,” Jeff said. He watched Kent head to the stairs after checking on Purrs’ food. “Hey, Kent?” he asked softly. He could see that Kent was distracted.

Kent looked up at him. “What’s up?”

Jeff wanted to ask Kent why he wasn’t freaking out about this, but it was not the time. Mostly because he wasn’t sure if he could read his best friend anymore. How many other things did Kent have to deal with on his own? “What are you gonna do?”

“About?”

Jeff pointed to the off TV. “That,” he said.

“Oh,” Kent said. “I… don’t know.”

“Kent.”

“I’m tired, Swoops. I need to sleep on it, but I’ll figure something out, okay?”

“Okay,” Jeff said. He stood up, not really wanting to linger in Kent’s place if he was sleeping upstairs. “Hey, Parse?” he said when Kent was halfway up the stairs.

“Yeah?”

“I’m here for you, you know?” Jeff said.

Kent smiled a non-media persona smile, and Jeff was damn glad to see it. “I know, man,” he said. “Thanks.”

Jeff stayed long enough to hear Kent close his bedroom door. He looked down when he felt Purrs brush up against his leg. “We’re gonna take care of him, aren’t we?”

The meow Purrs gave him reassured him that he was doing the right thing.

He left Purrs knowing that he’d be back to check on Kent later in the day.


	3. 4:54PM

Jeff pulled into Kent’s driveway and saw that someone else’s car was in his usual parking spot. The someone else was Scraps, who had a case of beer in each hand. Jeff looked at his own hands and realized that maybe he was unprepared for whatever was about to happen. He stepped out of his car and walked up to his teammate. “What are you doing here?”

“Checking on Kent.” Scraps paused and stared at Jeff as if Jeff had something written on his face and he was trying to read it. He sighed a sigh that deflated his entire body. “He told you, didn’t he?”

Jeff’s blood ran cold. Besides Kent and his brother, Scraps was the next person on his team he felt closest to. “You knew?”

Scraps placed the beers on the hood of his car and crossed his arms over his chest. “Of course, I fucking knew.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Scraps stepped forward and poked at Jeff’s chest. “First of all, it was and is not my place. Second of all, fuck you.”

Jeff rolled his eyes, disregarding Scraps’s second point. “How long have you known?”

“Our rookie year.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Jeff said loudly. “That was seven years ago.”

“I know when my rookie year was, Swoops.” Scraps stepped back and glared at Jeff. He moved to put himself between Jeff and the front door. “What are you even doing here?”

“I was here earlier,” Jeff said. “I told him I was gonna come back.”

Scraps stared at Jeff, trying to figure of if what he was saying was true or not. It took him a minute to realize that it didn’t matter. “Yeah, okay. And what about the rest of the team?”

“What about them?” Jeff asked.

“I don’t know, Troy,” he said, showing his displeasure by not using his nickname. “You tell me. You were the one agreeing with that shit Carl was spouting.”

“I wasn’t agreeing,” Jeff said.

“You weren’t?”

“Don’t,” Jeff growled. “Don’t lump me in with those guys. You know me. You know I don’t—”

“I know that. And Kent knows that. But Kent needed to see that last night.”

Jeff sighed. He could’ve easily brought up that Scraps didn’t say anything either, but he knew that Scraps had probably said something to Kent in private. “I know,” he said. “I…” He shook his head. “What are we gonna do?” he asked, calm.

“Nothing,” Scraps said.

“What do you mean nothing?” he said, getting riled up again. “We have to do something.”

“No. We don’t.”

“We can’t just let him—”

“We can, and we will,” Scraps said.

“Jayden.” It was his turn to use Scraps’ real name.

“No, Swoops,” Scraps said, stepping into Jeff’s space. “We don’t do anything unless Kent tells us it’s okay.”

Sometimes Jeff forgot how tall and big Scraps was. “But.”

Scraps sighed and started pacing. “You’ve known he was gay for a good, what, five minutes? You might think you know what’s good for him, but you really fucking don’t, okay?”

“We need to do something.” Doing nothing was making Jeff antsy.

“No, we fucking don’t.”

“But.”

“Listen, you ass,” Scraps said, probably louder than he needed to. “This isn’t about you. I know you think that you have a plan and that whatever your plan is can fix this, but this. Isn’t. About. You.” He looked over his shoulder at Kent’s front door. “This is about Kent,” he said. He looked back at Jeff. “And, guess what. He isn’t out. To anyone but you and me and like maybe four other people. So, whatever you think you can do to help, probably won’t.”

“You don’t know that,” Jeff said.

Scrappy scoffed, then rolled his eyes. “Let me guess. You want to get ahead of it?”

Jeff’s eyes went wide. “I…” How did Scraps know that?

Scraps smirked. If this happened a few years earlier, Scraps would’ve reacted the same way. They were a little predictable when it came to Kent.“Right. How are you gonna do that without outing him?”

“I would…”

“I get it. You want to protect your captain,” Scraps said.

“It’s not just that.” Yes, he wanted to do that, but Kent was his best friend. He wanted to make sure his best friend was okay.

“But you don’t get to use this as an opportunity to try and lessen whatever guilt you’re feeling.”

“That’s not what I’m doing,” Jeff growled.

“So, you don’t feel bad about laughing last night?”

“Shut the fuck up, Scraps,” Jeff said, his growl getting a bit deeper. “You know I’m not like that.”

“And Kent knows the team,” Scraps said. “And with how well he knows us, you tell me why he only came out to you last night.”

Jeff had nothing to say to that. He knew exactly why Kent kept it a secret. He sighed and leaned against Scraps’ car.“I don’t like not being able to help him.”

“I know,” Scraps said, moving to stand next to him.

“Is there anything we can do?”

Scraps shrugged. “Well. I have beer. Kent has Netflix and Hulu and probably HBO. You can order pizza.”

Jeff could do that. It’s the least he could do. “And then what?”

“And then we just be there for our friend. Duh.” He looked at Jeff and shrugged. “It’s all we can do, right now.”

“For now.”

Scraps nodded. “Yeah. For now.”

As soon as Kent gave them the okay, Jeff would do whatever he needed to do to help his best friend. He looked over when he saw Kent’s front door open.

“Are you two assholes gonna come inside, or you just gonna let the beer get warm?” Kent held up his cell phone and shook it. “You keep setting off my motion sensor alerts.”

Jeff looked over at Scraps who nodded. He pushed off the car and took a step toward his own car. “Hey, Parser. What kinda pizza do you want?”

“Grimaldi’s,” Kent said. “And I want a cheesecake too.”

Jeff could do that. He could get Kent a pizza. And whatever cheesecake he wanted. “Text me your order, I’ll be back in half an hour.”

“Sure.”

“Text me if you need anything else.” He was directing it more to Kent than to Scraps.

“More beer.” Apparently Scraps didn’t get the message.

“Yeah,” he said, rolling his eyes fondly. Jeff was ready for the three of them to just hang out. All night if Kent needed. “I’ll get more beer.”

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr at zimmboniandbitty.


End file.
